Doechii isn’t just a rapper or a singer: “I’m everything!” she roars on her song “Boom Bap.” Indeed, the tune both summarizes and lampoons the criticism that she’s faced throughout her career — that she must fit into one box in order to find success.
“Overall, it’s about the frustration of ‘Why can’t you just let me be me?’” says the 26-year-old artist, born Jaylah Hickmon. “Why can’t I be respected as myself, as an individual, as everything? I can do rap, trap, rock, pop, and I’m still great and I’m still me and that’s still valid. It’s just me fighting for people to understand me in a time where I felt like they just didn’t get it.”
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That should explain why she’s Variety’s Hitmakers Hip-Hop Disruptor of the Year. The first female rapper signed to Top Dawg Entertainment, Doechii has attracted fans enamored by the theatricality and vulnerability of her kaleidoscopic style. Her first full-length project, the mixtape “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” earned three Grammy nominations including best new artist and best rap album — the first time a female artist has been honored in the category with a mixtape format. Over the past year, she headlined a sold-out tour and gave a showstopping performance at Tyler, the Creator’s Camp Flog Gnaw.
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“It just shows how conceptual the music really was,” she says. “And for such a conceptual project to be a mixtape makes me very affirmed — that my ideas are great, and that people resonate with the music.”
On “Alligator Bites Never Heal,” Doechii engages in what she refers to as a “therapy session,” filtering deeply personal thoughts through an often comedic lens. “It’s scary, and it’s very vulnerable, but I have to do it, because I’m an artist,” she says of the project, where she’s just as quick to rap about hitting all-time lows (“Denial Is a River”) as she is spinning club-ready sex anthems (“Slide”).
Doechii’s sudden rise is the bloom of a career that has been pushing toward an inflection point. She grew up in Tampa, Fla., staging plays for her mother in the living room and creating short films. Writing songs became a priority, and in September 2020 she mined TikTok gold after her single “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake” went viral. An EP followed, and by March 2022 she was signed to TDE, which released her R&B-leaning singles “Persuasive” and “What It Is,” the latter of which became her first song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 last year.
“Alligator Bites Never Heal” was more than just a career breakthrough — it also marked a turning point in her creative approach. “I woke up one day and told my label, ‘I’m just going to make a mixtape,’” she recalls, noting the pressures that come with officially declaring a project a “debut album.”
“I was able to birth this out of pure presence and creativity, and I think I want to carry that with all of my projects and have that mentality moving forward.”
Those projects include her official debut studio album, which she promises will arrive in 2025 and will incorporate more live instrumentation. “All I can think about is this album,” she says, “so I’m just looking forward to making more hits, making more music and achieving more of my goals. That’s it.”
